                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2025 June 2
   The featured image shows a night sky with a large complex nebula in red
   and blue. The Veil Nebula has several famous components such as the Bat
   and Witch's Broom Nebulas. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                 Veil Nebula: Wisps of an Ancient Supernova
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Abdullah Alharbi

   Explanation: Wisps like this are all that remain visible of a Milky Way
   star. About 7,000 years ago that star exploded in a supernova, leaving
   the Veil Nebula. At the time, the expanding cloud was likely as bright
   as a crescent Moon, remaining visible for weeks to people living at the
   dawn of recorded history. Today, the resulting supernova remnant, also
   known as the Cygnus Loop, has faded and is now visible only through a
   small telescope directed toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus).
   The remaining Veil Nebula is physically huge, however, and even though
   it lies about 1,400 light-years distant, it covers over five times the
   size of the full Moon. The featured picture was taken in Kuwait in
   mid-2024 and features light emitted by hydrogen in red and oxygen in
   blue. In deep images of the complete Veil Nebula like this, even
   studious readers might not be able to identify the iconic filaments.

             Piece it All Together: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
                       Tomorrow's picture: rainbow sky
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